General
Jama Mohamed Ghalib, a senior politician from northwest Somalia,
walked out of the first session of the Somalia Transitional
National Assembly (TNA) held in Djibouti on Monday.
He protested
that the host, Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh, was
violating his role by "interfering" in the selection process.
General
Ghalib said the Djibouti government had refused to honour
the list submitted by the northwestern Somalia delegation,
and had instead forwarded another list, the Mogadishu-based
paper 'Xog-Ogaal' reported on Tuesday.
According
to the report, Ghalib said he was the spokesperson of the
northwestern Somalia delegation. However, sources at the conference
told IRIN that Ghalib - from the Issak sub-clan Ghahajis -
wanted allocated seats to go only to those Issak who were
present at the Djibouti-hosted conference. Ghalib is a former
minister of interior and commissioner of police, sacked by
ex-president Mohamed Siad Barre.
When the
civil war broke out in 1991, he was a popular candidate for
prime minister, but returned to the self-declared state of
Somaliland when the south disintegrated into warring factions.
Poor relations
with Somaliland leader Mohamed Ibrahim Egal led to him later
forming an alliance with the late General Mohamed Farah Aideed.
SOMALIA:
Weapon costs rise because of talks
While
the shilling has strengthened against the dollar in Mogadishu
because of political optimism over the Djibouti-hosted talks,
the price of weapons has increased. Guns have reportedly increased
in value because weapons dealers anticipate new fighting as
a result of the power-sharing moves in Djibouti, AP reported.
Political
optimism has been reflected by currency traders raising the
value of the shilling from 9,800 to the dollar to 8,800, the
lowest level since 1995, and the sharpest downfall since the
United Nations forces abandoned Somalia early 1995.
But a
Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifle increased in price
from US $130 at the weekend to US $200 on Tuesday, AP reported.
Ammunition prices have increased from 15 cents a round to
25 cents.
A double-barrelled
anti-aircraft gun has gone up from US $26,000 to $30, 000.
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